Articles

Puerto Rico benefits and compensation attorney Carlos Gonzalez shares his practical experience with, and recommendations on, the evaluation of the cybersecurity measures of insurance companies servicing healthcare and welfare benefit…

On January 22, 2025, the Puerto Rico Treasury Department (commonly known by its Spanish name as “Hacienda”) issued Circular Letter of Internal Revenue No. 25-01 [https://hacienda.pr.gov/publicaciones/carta-circular-de-rentas-internas-num-25-01-cc-ri-25-01], establishing the annual contributions…

This article answers the most common questions currently being asked by H.R. and employee benefits officials of U.S. companies with operations in Puerto Rico as to whether employer matching contributions…

Puerto Rico benefits & compensation expert Carlos Gonzalez shares his practical experience with the evaluation of the cybersecurity measures of local financial institutions servicing retirement plans in operation in Puerto…

Employers considering reductions in workforce in Puerto Rico should be aware that the rules on the taxation of severance pay in the United States and Puerto Rico are different. The…

With the IRS’ recent announcement of the 2025 limits on deductible contributions to health savings accounts (“HSAs”) and maximum deductible amounts and out-of-pocket expenses under high deductible health plans (“HDHPs”)…

Retirement plans in operation in Puerto Rico can impose a statute of limitations for the filing of ERISA claims for benefits that is substantially shorter than the four-year period that…

The employer-shared responsibility requirements of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) do not apply in Puerto Rico.  Basically, since Puerto Rico is not part of the U.S. for purposes of Code…

To streamline the process that employers with operations in Puerto Rico (P.R.) need to follow to comply with their U.S. payroll tax obligations, the IRS recently replaced the tax forms…

On January 30, 2024, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (commonly known by its Spanish name as “Hacienda”) issued Circular Letter of Internal Revenue No. 24-01, establishing the 2024…

This article describes how the provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022—Division T of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023—apply to retirement plans in operation in Puerto Rico, both Puerto...

This article provides a comprehensive description of the main statutory and practical considerations of offering healthcare benefits to Puerto Rico employees, including how the ACA and its related Code and...

This article (in Spanish) addresses the impact of ERISA’s Fiduciary Investment Advisor regulations on those Puerto Rico CPAs who render accounting and/or consulting services for qualified retirement plans.

This article describes changes made during 2016 & 2017 to the rules on the operation and qualification of retirement plans in Puerto Rico, including (1) the procedure the P.R. Department…

This article addresses the changes brought by Administrative Determination No. 16-05 (AD 16-05), which: (1) eliminated the filing of local Form 480.70(OE), Informative Return for Income Tax Exempt Organizations, by qualified retirement plans,…

In a desperate attempt to raise revenues and, hopefully, avoid bankruptcy, during the 2014 the government of Puerto Rico allowed local taxpayers to prepay at favorable rates income taxes on…

This article describes the process that needed to be followed, and related Hacienda filings, for amending all qualified retirement plans in operation on the Island to incorporate the new qualification...

This article (in Spanish) describes in full detail the Hacienda regulations under PRIRC Section 1081.01(b) regarding the Puerto Rico income taxation of distributions and withdrawals from qualified retirement plans.

Complete description of the Puerto Rico taxation rules on retirement income (e.g., distributions from pension and 401(k) plans) that have been in place since 2013 on account of Hacienda’s regulations…

Description of the various changes that Section 1081.01 of the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011, as amended (PRIRC), made to the local qualified retirement plan rules.

A good practical and technical description of the rules that the IRS set forth in Rev. Rul. 2008-40 for the tax-free transfer of Puerto Rico participants, and their respective plan…

The first published article describing the main changes made during 2011 to Puerto Rico’s qualified retirement plan rules.  For a complete description of Puerto Rico’s qualified retirement plan rules rules…

Description of a tax planning approach that, under the right circumstances, U.S. taxpayers who used to live and work in Puerto Rico, could use for minimizing their income taxes —…

This article is the precursor to the leading publication regarding benefits and compensation matters in Puerto Rico: C. Gonzalez, 324 T.M., International Pension Planning – Puerto Rico, which Bloomberg Tax…